S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8397--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 21, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be  committed  to  the  Committee  on  Labor  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the labor law, in relation to prohibiting health care
   employers from penalizing employees because of complaints of  employer
   violations

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2 and 3 of section 741 of the labor law, as
 added by chapter 24 of the laws of 2002, paragraph (b) of subdivision  1
 as  amended  by  chapter 505 of the laws of 2003, are amended to read as
 follows:
   1. Definitions. As used in this section,  the  following  terms  shall
 have the following meanings:
   (a)  "Employee" means any person who performs health care services for
 and under the control and direction of any public  or  private  employer
 which provides health care services for wages or other remuneration.
   (b)  "Employer"  means  any partnership, association, corporation, the
 state, or any political subdivision of the  state  which:  (i)  provides
 health  care services in a facility licensed pursuant to article twenty-
 eight or thirty-six of the public health law; (ii) provides health  care
 services  within  a  primary  or  secondary  public or private school or
 public or private university setting; (iii) operates and provides health
 care services under the mental hygiene law or  the  correction  law;  or
 (iv)  is registered with the department of education pursuant to section
 sixty-eight hundred eight of the education law.
   (c) "Agent" means any  individual,  partnership,  association,  corpo-
 ration, or group of persons acting on behalf of an employer.
   (d)  "Improper quality of patient care" means, with respect to patient
 care, any practice, procedure, action or failure to act of  an  employer
 which  violates  any law, rule, regulation or declaratory ruling adopted
 pursuant to law, where such violation relates to matters which may pres-
 ent a substantial and specific danger to public health or  safety  or  a
 significant threat to the health of a specific patient.
   (e)  "IMPROPER  QUALITY  OF  WORKPLACE  SAFETY" MEANS, WITH RESPECT TO
              

 EMPLOYEES, ANY PRACTICE, PROCEDURE, ACTION  OR  FAILURE  TO  ACT  OF  AN
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD16155-02-0

 S. 8397--A                          2
 
 EMPLOYER WHICH VIOLATES ANY LAW, RULE, REGULATION, OR DECLARATORY RULING
 ADOPTED  PURSUANT  TO  LAW WHERE SUCH VIOLATION RELATES TO MATTERS WHICH
 MAY PRESENT AN UNSAFE WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT OR RISK OF  EMPLOYEE  SAFETY
 OR A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO THE HEALTH OF A SPECIFIC EMPLOYEE.
   (F) "Public body" means:
   (1)  the United States Congress, any state legislature, or any elected
 local governmental body, or any member or employee thereof;
   (2) any federal, state or local court, or any member or employee ther-
 eof, any grand or petit jury;
   (3) any federal, state or local regulatory, administrative  or  public
 agency or authority, or instrumentality thereof;
   (4)  any federal, state or local law enforcement agency, prosecutorial
 office, or police or peace officer;
   (5) any federal, state or local department of an executive  branch  of
 government; or
   (6)  any  division,  board, bureau, office, committee or commission of
 any of the public bodies described in subparagraph one, two, three, four
 or five of this paragraph.
   [(f)]  (G)  "Retaliatory  action"  means  the  discharge,  suspension,
 demotion,  penalization  or discrimination against an employee, or other
 adverse employment action taken against an employee  in  the  terms  and
 conditions of employment.
   [(g)] (H) "Supervisor" means any person within an employer's organiza-
 tion who has the authority to direct and control the work performance of
 an  employee, or who has the authority to take corrective action regard-
 ing the violation of a law, rule or  regulation  to  which  an  employee
 submits a complaint.
   2.  Retaliatory action prohibited. Notwithstanding any other provision
 of law, no employer shall take retaliatory action against  any  employee
 because the employee does any of the following:
   (a)  discloses  or  threatens  to  disclose to a supervisor, [or] to a
 public body, TO A NEWS MEDIA OUTLET, OR TO A SOCIAL MEDIA  FORUM  AVAIL-
 ABLE  TO  THE  PUBLIC  AT  LARGE, an activity, policy or practice of the
 employer or agent that the employee, in good faith, reasonably  believes
 constitutes  improper  quality  of  patient  care OR IMPROPER QUALITY OF
 WORKPLACE SAFETY; or
   (b) objects to, or refuses to participate in any activity,  policy  or
 practice  of  the  employer  or  agent that the employee, in good faith,
 reasonably believes constitutes improper  quality  of  patient  care  OR
 IMPROPER QUALITY OF WORKPLACE SAFETY.
   3.  Application.  The  protection against retaliatory personnel action
 provided by subdivision two of this section shall not apply  unless  the
 employee  has  brought  the improper quality of patient care OR IMPROPER
 QUALITY OF WORKPLACE SAFETY to the attention of  a  supervisor  and  has
 afforded the employer a reasonable opportunity to correct such activity,
 policy  or  practice.  This  subdivision shall not apply to an action or
 failure to act described in paragraph (a) of  subdivision  two  of  this
 section  where  the improper quality of patient care OR IMPROPER QUALITY
 OF WORKPLACE SAFETY described therein presents  an  imminent  threat  to
 public  health  or  safety  or  to  the  health of a specific patient OR
 SPECIFIC HEALTH CARE EMPLOYEE and the employee  reasonably  believes  in
 good faith that reporting to a supervisor would not result in corrective
 action.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.